Everything you need to know about Golden Boot race

The final stages: The quarter-finals of the World Cup are almost complete as the tournament reaches its conclusion. Only a small group of elite nations remain in contention to lift the trophy.

A tight race: Furthermore, the battle for the individual Golden Boot award is currently tied. This entire tournament has been heavily dominated by the world’s brightest stars.

Joint leaders: Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi currently lead the race with eight goals each this tournament. Both forward players have scored consistently across the group stage and have also found the back of the net in the knockout rounds.

Opponents punished: Messi scored his goals against Algeria, Austria and Jordan in the group stage and then against both Cape Verde and Egypt. He has scored in nine consecutive World Cup games. Mbappe found the net against Senegal, Iraq and Sweden in the group and also scored decisive goals against Paraguay and Morocco.

Tiebreaker rules: If the tournament finishes with players tied on goals, the individual with the most assists wins the award. If they remain level on assists, the trophy goes to the player who logged the fewest minutes on the pitch. As things stand, Mbappe has three assists to his name, whilst Messi only has one.

Dangerous contenders: However, Erling Haaland follows closely behind the leading duo with seven goals for Norway, whilst England’s Harry Kane sits on six goals. France’s Ousmane Dembele is also in contention with a current tally of five goals.

Previous winner: It was Mbappe who won the Golden Boot at World Cup 2022 in Qatar. He secured that individual trophy after scoring eight goals, which included a hat-trick in the final.

All-time leaderboard: Messi and Mbappe’s rampant scoring has now moved them into the first and second positions on the all-time World Cup scoring list. They secured these historic placements during the group and knockout stages of this tournament.

Surpassing a legend: Both players passed Germany’s Miroslav Klose to secure the top two spots in tournament history. Klose previously held the all-time record with 16 career World Cup goals.

Exact tallies: Messi currently holds the outright lead with 21 career World Cup goals. Mbappe sits directly behind his rival in second place with 20 goals.